A PATIENT display gave the Blaze the upper hand in the opening match of their back-to-back battle with Newcastle Vipers on Saturday, with Brian Lee bagging a brace of goals.

Playing in the unfamiliar confines of Whitley Bay’s ice rink, Blaze (sponsored by Coventry Plumbing and Heating), took a lucky lead in the opening period when the puck deflected into the net off Greg Chambers’ ankle.

Coventry then had to soak up a lot of pressure as they ran into penalty bother - Newcastle would take the lead before the end of the first period with goals from Tyler Kindle, who pounced on a loose puck and Jason Tejchma, who scored from the slot.

At the start of the second frame, Blaze had to kill more penalties, with Chambers sent into the box for an accidental high stick. If Newcastle had found a way through, the game could have taken a different turn. Instead, Blaze were able to exert themselves when they finally got a run of even-handed play.

Lee equalised from the blue line after some industry by Russ Cowley before Jonathan Weaver hit the open Adam Calder with a long pass and the Blaze captain shot through Vipers netminder Michel Robinson to make it 3-2.

Lee drove the net on a powerplay to extend Blaze’s lead and the win was completed when Dan Carlson chased down a long clearance and scored an empty-netter.